


Bi The Way

by echolehane



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Gen, Scooby bonding, coming out fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-27
Updated: 2016-10-27
Packaged: 2018-08-27 08:59:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8395537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/echolehane/pseuds/echolehane
Summary: Jenny's just about to give up on her scrolling and log out when one search catches her eye. “Liking girls and boys”.//When Jenny notices something odd in the school's search history, she wants to talk to Willow about it.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [The_Eclectic_Bookworm](https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Eclectic_Bookworm/gifts).



> In memory of our dear Jenny Calendar. Happy Jenny Calendar Day, folks.

The week hadn’t exactly been a tough one, but to say it was easy would also be lying. Between classes and Scooby Gang adventures, Jenny felt like she definitely deserved her free period on Friday afternoon. It was a good time to take a breather before the weekend struck, and it allowed her a chance to peruse the school computers’ website history, making sure no students were looking up things they shouldn’t. Or, for that matter, no teachers either. 

 

Jenny settles herself at her desk, coffee in hand, and starts to scroll. The searches are nothing overly interesting, and nothing that triggers red flags. The websites all fit into mostly the same categories. Research. Science. History. Math. She doesn’t even find the search phrases that interesting. “ _ How to write an essay”  _ and  _ “newton’s second law”  _ and, her personal favorite, “ _ name of the dude running Germany with the funny mustache”.  _

 

She’s just about to give up and log out when one search catches her eye. “ _ Liking girls and boys”.  _ She leans forward, intrigued and worried at the same time. An eyebrow edges upward as she continues reading, all of the searches nearly the same now. “ _ Is liking boys and girls normal”  _ and  _ “what is a bisexual”.  _ Without hardly registering, she sets the coffee down beside her computer, the final search causing her heart to crack just a little in her chest.  _ “How to fix bisexuals”.  _

 

The good part about having the information to each search is that she can also find out which student was logged into the computer that did the searching. A few clicks later, and she’s staring at the screen in quiet disbelief. Willow Rosenberg. 

 

Her heart breaks just a little further to imagine Willow looking at these search results. Reading all these things, her fears multiplied in the words on the screen. Willow’s a bright girl, brighter than almost anyone in the entire school, Jenny’s willing to wager, and her brilliant mind could run to incredible lengths with this information. 

 

Out of curiosity, she finds herself clicking on one of the searches. The results flash up on screen, and her heart sinks further and further with each sentence she reads. Nothing is good. “ _ Bisexuals are wrong”  _ and  _ “need to pick a side.”  _ Words jump out at her as she scans the pages. Greedy. Lying. Fake.  Each word’s almost like a stake to the chest, another pain that reminds her of the horror she endured growing up. Those same words spoken to her and over her in her childhood, and all the shame and the hurt they carry. It’s worse here, she thinks. Over the internet, people are crueler. 

 

Jenny thinks of Willow, wondering how much she actually read. Maybe she only got one or two results in before forcing herself away from the screen. Hopefully, at least. She can’t imagine Willow reading more of these, feeling like she’s wrong. Greedy. Lying. Broken. 

 

There’s a knock at her door, and Jenny looks up, startled. Her first thought is that it’s Willow, but the tweed jacket dispels that thought instantly.    
“Rupert, hi,” she greets, closing down the window without thinking. She has no doubt that Giles would be more than okay with Willow’s apparent sexuality - he is accepting of her - but it’s not her secret to tell. 

“Hello,” Giles greets back, entering the room with a small smile. It’s one of her favorites, really. “How was your last period?”

“Search histories, as usual,” she grins back, standing and pressing her lips to his in greeting. “Can you do me a favor?”

“Anything,” Giles answers instantly.

“Call a Scooby meeting tonight? And invite Willow early?”

“Of course,” Giles nods, but the crease between his eyebrows shows that he’s confused. Jenny can’t blame him; she’s never wanted to call a surprise gang meeting before, let alone specifically for Willow. 

“I’ll explain at home,” Jenny reaches up to kiss Giles briefly, then presses one hand against his chest. “Now go, catch the kids before they run out.”

 

That night, there’s a knock at the door. When Jenny opens it, she sees Willow standing there smiling. Jenny’s kind of amazed at her outward composure, when she knows the turmoil in her head. 

“Willow, hi!” Jenny greets her warmly, stepping to one side and allowing the young girl to enter the apartment. “Come in.”

“I’m really glad Giles called us over,” Willow starts as she passes Jenny, heading straight for the bookshelves. “This demon Buffy killed last night seems pretty interesting. He said it could change color!” Jenny watches as she starts touching the spines of the books with her fingertips, like she’s struggling to pick one. At that moment, the redhead pauses, fingers stilling in their exploration, and looks around. 

“Where is Giles, anyway?”

“He had to run to the store,” Jenny replies easily, knowing Giles will be gone for at least the next half-hour. It’s what they’d agreed, after all. She’d explained as much as she could to him without revealing exactly what she’d seen, but he’s a smart man. She knows he’s got his suspicions, and they’re probably right. It’s partly why she thinks he agreed so easily to allowing her and Willow to spend some time alone before the other Scoobies show up. Willow accepts the excuse easily and continues looking at the books. 

 

After a minute, Jenny decides it might be her time to try and tactfully approach the subject. See how much Willow’s willing to give away herself, and without pushing too hard. The last thing she wants is to scare the poor girl off. 

“Have you been alright lately, Willow? You seem kind of upset.”

Willow’s face doesn’t give anything away, not that Jenny can see a lot of it anyway. The redhead is still staring at the books on the shelf as though they’ll help her out. 

“Just school stress, you know, the usual,” Willow brushes it off, but Jenny keeps going. 

“I hope you know that you can talk to me about anything at all,” she tries a different tactic, moving over to the couch as she does. “You know I’m here. And I would never,  _ ever  _ judge you.” There’s no humanly possible way to emphasise how much she would never judge Willow, but Jenny tries to get the point across. 

 

At this, Willow turns, locking eyes with Jenny. The brunette can see the turmoil in the younger girl’s face, the confusion and the worry playing out as obviously as if someone had written it in marker. But Willow keeps her mouth drawn into a tight line, then forces a smile. 

“Seriously, I’m good. It’s just school, you know how it is! I’m definitely of the good. I’m so of the good it’s not even funny.”

“You know,” Jenny settles back against the cushions of the couch, trying to make Willow feel as at ease as possible here, “I used to think I couldn’t tell anyone anything. In fact, I remember keeping this huge secret, back when I was in high school.” She pauses for emphasis, looking at Willow pointedly. “About your age, actually. There was this girl in my history class, named Amanda.” Jenny can notice the moment Willow realises what she’s talking about, because the redhead’s eyes go wide for just a split second. “I realised pretty quickly that i liked her as more than a friend. And that made me so worried, because I had heard what people said about girls like that.” Willow’s eyes are unreadable now, trained on the floor. “But I still liked boys. Then I discovered what it meant to be bisexual.” Jenny pauses a second, trying to work out how to best phrase the next part. What exact words did  _ she  _ need to hear at Willow’s age? In that exact position? Worry is emanating off the teenager in waves, and she’s still gnawing at her bottom lip, fingers twisted in her sleeves. “And I found out that being bisexual is okay. It’s okay to like both girls and boys.” 

 

Willow doesn’t look up, but Jenny can see a single tear slip down her cheek, running off her chin. Without lifting her head, Willow moves slowly over to the couch, lowering herself to the cushion beside Jenny. The brunette keeps quiet, knowing Willow’s still processing. That big brain of hers is moving at a million miles an hour and it will take a second for her to be able to speak. 

“Willow,” she says softly, after about a minute. She’s starting to think the girl’s forgotten she’s even there. 

Willow looks up at the sound of her name, watery eyes focusing on Jenny intently. As she holds the older woman’s gaze, tears spill over her lids in a constant stream, each blink causing fresh streaks down her cheeks. 

“Is there something wrong with me?” she asks, her voice breaking halfway through the sentence. 

 

Wordlessly, Jenny opens her arms, letting Willow fall into them with a sob. As she cries, Jenny strokes her hair, letting the long red strands slip through her fingers even as Willow’s tears wet her collarbone. 

“It’s okay,” she reassures. “You’re okay. You’re not wrong. You’re not broken.”

She continues murmuring what she hopes is words of comfort as Willow cries, just allowing Willow that release. 

 

When the tears subside, Willow finally sits up, sniffling. 

“Giles didn’t go to the store, did he?” 

“Actually, yes,” Jenny laughs as she stands up. Sure, he’d gone to kill time, but Willow doesn’t need to know that. “Want some water?”

Willow nods slowly, and Jenny makes her way to the kitchen. 

 

“I’ve never told anyone before,” Willow’s voice is small, though Jenny can’t tell if that’s from the distance between them or the fact that she’s shy about her admission. “But I was really scared. It’s scary on your own. And the internet was no help,” she trails off into a watery laugh.

“Have you heard of the word bisexual?” Jenny asks gently as she re-enters the living room. She sets Willow’s glass of water on the table and watches the teen nod slowly. 

“There’s lots of negatives out there about it, you know. But it’s wrong. Just because people don’t understand something doesn’t make it any less valid.”

Willow picks up the glass of water and sips it in contemplative silence. Jenny relaxes back onto the couch, letting Willow have her space.

“Does Giles know?” Willow’s voice breaks into her thoughts, and Jenny looks over at her. She seems sheepish, like she didn’t want to ask. 

“Yes, and he still loves me,” she replies. “It’s just another part of me. Like being a teacher. Or a technopagan. Your friends won’t think of you any differently, Willow.” The girl looks up at that, and Jenny knows she’s struck a nerve. “They’ll still love you.” If anything, she knows Giles will fully accept her. Jenny hadn’t really been worried about telling him, mostly because she knew he was a decent guy who cared for her and if he was as good as she thought, he’d be okay. That, and she was confident enough in herself to not be ashamed about it. Giles had been instantly understanding and accepting of it, and they’d moved on without issue. 

 

“You know I’m always here for you, okay? Always here if you need someone to talk to,” Jenny emphasises to Willow. She knows what it’s like to feel alone. To feel scared. Especially about this. And she doesn’t want Willow to ever have to endure that. “And not just about this. If you need advice, or just someone to rant to, or if someone’s bullying you-”

Willow cuts her off with a hug, and Jenny grins. 

“I’ll come to you,  _ promise. _ ”

 

The front door opens then, almost on cue, and Giles steps into the apartment carefully, like he’s afraid it’s been boobytrapped. 

“We’re fine, Rupert, you can come in,” Jenny half-laughs. “We’re all good.” She looks over at Willow, who gives her a small smile. When the brunette looks back at Giles, his eyes are trained on Willow, shining with such love and fatherly pride that she has to grin. 

“Well, tea, everyone?” he says, almost awkwardly, then bustles off to the kitchen.

 

Within ten minutes, the front door opens again, and the rest of the Scoobies enter the apartment. Jenny’s equal parts amused and comforted by their entrance, like this is home and they don’t have to worry about knocking. This is what true family is. By this time, she’s helping Giles get the tea and cookies ready in the kitchen (or, more accurately, trying to distract him while he gets the tea and snacks ready), and Willow’s flipping through a book on the couch. Her eyes have lost the redness they’d sported earlier, and she’s able to offer the gang a genuine smile when they burst through the door. 

“Hey Wills!” Xander snatches a cookie off the plate Giles had prepared, and grins widely at his friend. “You’re looking happy.”

“Yeah,” Buffy drops onto the couch beside the redhead. “What’s got you all bright-smiley-gal?”

Willow shrugs, but meets Jenny’s eye across the room with a knowing grin. Jenny smiles back, then the room dissolves into Xander tossing cookies at the girls on the couch, Buffy yelping, and Giles scolding them both.  _ Nothing’s changed, _ Jenny thinks, looking at the trio laughing, and noticing the way Willow’s finally able to smile again.

_ Well, maybe that.  _

 

 


End file.
